WEIGHTY DECISIONS

APPLE INTRODUCES NEW, SLIMMER IPHONE

- STORY: TRIPP MICKLE AND BRIAN X. CHEN / NYT

As inflation has risen, some businesses have flourished by selling more for less. But with its newest iPhone, Apple is taking the opposite approach and offering less for more.

On Tuesday, the company unveiled a new iPhone that is thinner and smaller than previous models. The titanium-encased smartphone is a third less thick than previous models but has fewer cameras and less battery life than its predecessors. It is called the iPhone Air and costs 39,900 baht.

The single camera has a second telephoto lens and uses artificial intelligence to sharpen images, allowing it to offer the same photography features as previous models, Apple said. It also has software to conserve battery, so that it can offer all-day battery life.

"It's a paradox you have to hold to believe," said Abidur Chowdhury, an industrial designer who introduced the device during an hour-long product event from the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California.

The device headlined an event that was punctuated by announcements of price increases for some of its most popular iPhones, with the cost of the Pro and Pro Max models rising to 43,900 and 48,900 baht.

And in a move that increases profit margins with the iPhone 17 Pro for Apple, the company replaced the titanium material found on previous Pro phones with aluminium, a cheaper material. In a marketing video, Apple said it had to revert to aluminium because it redesigned the phone's hardware.